Reason to Be Proud

"Every Japanese should feel proud," of what their forces have accomplished in Iraq, Baghdad's Ambassador in Tokyo Ghanim Alwan Al-Jumaily told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi this week.

That pride extends beyond the immediate task of helping to bring democracy to Iraq. Tokyo's two-year troop deployment, the first since World War II to a country where fighting is still ongoing, marked Japan's emergence as a more confident...